Wednesday, June 6, 2012

QB Race


John McKay


On his Facebook page, Head Coach Pete Mangurian asks fans to comment with their all-time favorite football quotes.

I couldn't resist writing this gem from former USC and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay:

Reporter: Coach, how do you feel about your team's execution?

McKay: It's a good idea.

Draft News

Rising senior Dario Pizzano was chosen in the 15th round of the MLB amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners last night.

I'm assuming Pizzano will stay in school and with the team, but who knows for sure?

What I do know is that this is yet another feather in the cap for baseball coach Bret Boretti, who continues to show everyone how it's done at the Baker Athletic Complex!


QB Quandry

Are either of the two incoming freshmen QB's likely to climb the depth chart this season?

A lot of that depends on the health of Sean Brackett. Brackett's 2011 was marred by shoulder problems that seem to have cleared up. 

His back up coming into camp is fellow senior Andrew Weiss who showed lots of skill in some brief appearances last year. Weiss' smarts and comfort with the system will make him a tough man to replace as the #2 QB.

Frosh Trevor McDonagh is the kind of pure pocket passer that Mangurian may favor given his mostly NFL-based career. A lot of talented Ivy players have come out of the league McDonagh comes from in St. Louis, including Columbia's all-time leading rusher Johnathan Reese. 

But pure pocket passers seem to take more time to develop than dual threat QB's for reasons I can't explain. 

That brings us to Hank Trumbull, who just happens to be a 6-4 200 pound dual threat himself. He could make some noise here, but he could also end up as a very effective WR, TE or H-back too. If he stays at QB it means he has a really, really good arm. 

Bottom line is that I would be surprised to see Trumbull or McDonagh crack the two-deep this year. But that's only if everyone stays healthy.

10 comments:

lionrock said...

Columbia has been hurt by lack of depth at quarterback for the last several years. Injuries to M.A. and Brackett caused the team's offense to go into a free fall. The Brown game two years ago was a clear example of the problem. Clearly, Pete intends to change all that and his plan is to have at least four talented quarterbacks ready to go from day one. As everyone knows, you cannot win an Ivy League title without a decent back-up at the quarterback position. The SOP is to have three top quarterbacks ready to play at game one. Given all that, I would expect either McDonagh or Trumbull to be part of the unpublished "three-deep" for the season opener. Keep in mind that the Lions now have much more depth at all of the offensive skills positions as several of the wide receivers can also play quarterback, if necessary.

Anonymous said...

Jake, it looks like your namesake, "Jake" Wanamaker, may be eligible to play for Columbia this September, that would be a tremendous boost for the Lion offense.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I think last year's game against Dartmouth should be Exhibit A when talking about Columbia's lack of depth at QB.

Anonymous said...

It seemed like Bell regressed over his time at CU. He played well vs. Harvard as a soph and poorly as a junior and senior. I don't know if that is coaching or not, but he wasn't ready to play.

Re: baseball, let's hope Pizzano stays! I couldn't help but note CU opponents Cornell, Army, St. John's, Stony Brook, Manhattan, San Diego and Pepperdine all made the NCAAs, and St. John's and Stony Brook won their regionals. We play a pretty tough schedule.

Ungvar said...

Is there new information regarding Jake Wanamaker? Source?

RedTiger61 said...

Lionrock .... remember whoever is the QB needs rep's during the week ... Brackett will get most of the rep's .... Weiss wil get some because he's the backup .... the only practice time the 3rd string QB get's is running the other team's plays as part of the scout team .... with no JV games, we'll just have to wait till the Spring game next year to see how McDonagh and Trumbell fare ....

oldlion said...

What about our rising sophomores at QB? I thought we had some talent in last year's freshman class.

Anonymous said...

One of them quit football and the other one got moved to WR.

lionrock said...

I certainly agree with Red Tiger 61about the reps, but submit that our two very talented new quarterbacks will compete very quickly for playing time behind Sean Brackett.

WOF said...

I only watched just a few minutes of their youtube tapes and my prediction is that Mcdonough becomes a good QB and trumbull becomes a stud TE who can run after the catch.

I have no clue if I have any idea how to judge talent nor do I know either kid and their desire to work hard but I am interested to see how they both progress